


Duelist Kingdom: Did Not Place

by Anti_Mattering



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga), Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: Absolute Despair, Gen, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, main character is one of the background characters from early Duel Monsters, taking place over the roughly 10 years between Duelist Kingdom and GX
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:07:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27166348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anti_Mattering/pseuds/Anti_Mattering
Summary: Whatever happened to all of the other entrants who didn't make it to the finals?
Comments: 4
Kudos: 4





	1. Qualifier

Duelist Kingdom. It was almost like a dream to actually be here. This wasn't just any old card tournament being held on this island but a chance to test your skills against the best duelists in the entire world. And it turned out he was one of the best.

Ryuunosuke had never really considered that he might be more than just _pretty good_ at the game of Duel Monsters. Sure, he'd won several tournaments, but that didn't seem like much compared to some of the other people here. From just the small preview at the docks, he could already spot the National Champion and runner up, plus several other famous contestants. Even some kid who was rumored to have beaten Kaiba Seto was supposed to be there, though he had no idea who that might be.

He wasn't worried, though. He was just as worthy of being here as everyone else; the red glove and star chips stowed away in his backpack were proof enough of that. Plus he had his Holy Night Dragon by his side. Sure, maybe that didn't automatically make him unbeatable, but it didn't hurt.

Good cards and a proven track record were only part of it, though. Unlike the others here only fighting for glory or to greedily get their hands on the prize money, he had a reason to win. A reason that meant he absolutely couldn't lose no matter what.

In the middle of picking some lint off his red sweater (rolling around on the ground all night wasn't great for style), one of the men in black suits began barking orders at the lot of them. Looks like things were about to start. Now they were all to move from the docks over to the huge brick castle a short ways in the distance. This really was starting to feel like a dream.

But this was no dream. Unlike in a dream, he'd get to keep the proof of his victory once he left and went back home. No, this was all real, and he'd really be taking home the gold soon enough. Watch out, everyone. He wasn't about to show any mercy once they were turned loose in this place.

* * *

Ryuunosuke didn't come from money. In fact, it was quite the opposite, his family being dirt poor for nearly his entire life. His only real solace during these early years was Duel Monsters, and that was mostly due to being lucky enough to pull Holy Night Dragon from a pack early on and establish himself as a skilled player.

He thought this meant he could somehow beat the odds and make it to the top. His early tournament successes definitely seemed to validate that, as did the invitation to compete in Duelist Kingdom in the first place. But all it really amounted to was a higher and higher peak to fall from.

And fall he did. Like he'd told himself at the beginning of the tournament, he didn't accept the invitation just to play cards or for some materialistic desire. He wanted the money to be sure, but it wasn't for himself. It was all meant to be for his mother.

One of the reasons his family remained in poverty was her, after all. A few years after he was born, she'd developed a rare kind of blood disorder. Costs were high to keep the disease at bay, though it was always framed as a fruitless endeavor. It would buy her a few years or maybe a decade at best, but that was only if they could continue to pay for the costly medicine and treatments.

But then Duelist Kingdom came along. It was like a miracle made manifest right in his mailbox. Compared to the small cash payouts his previous tournament wins had netted the family, a 3 million yen grand prize for the winner was too good to be true.

This was the lifeline they'd been wildly grasping for for so long. When the news first came about his mother's disease, the doctor had briefly mentioned a type of surgery that had the potential to cure her. It was far too costly, though. Not even an option worth considering given the price the specialists charged for it.

But with the prize money, things were suddenly different. If he could just make it to the finals and win, he'd have enough money to save his mother and then some. He believed he could do it. So did his family and friends. He _had_ to do it. The stakes were too high for him to lose.

And then he lost. Considering there was no Ryuunosuke listed as the victor of Duelist Kingdom in the history books, it should be obvious how things had turned out for him. While he'd managed to hang in there for two whole rounds, a single loss had robbed him of all four of his star chips. It was like a nightmare come to life.

Before he knew it, he was being tossed onto a rowboat and told to navigate his way back to Japan with about a dozen other losers. Miraculously, they made it home without anyone dying. Maybe that was the real dream-come-true, after all.

After that, Ryuunosuke didn't do much dueling. It wasn't for any reason as pathetic as a bruised ego, however. He'd just come to recognize his own inferiority. Why play after something like that? Better to just not try.

It turned out that things like pride or honor or a reason to fight didn't matter in the slightest once you put your cards down. Trying to make it among the professionals was a herculean task, one he wasn't cut out for. He just didn't have the skills or cards or blind luck to pull it off.

He broke the news to his parents after that. They both seemed to take it well, congratulating him for making it as far as he did and thanking him for trying. Empty words, though. The truth was he was now responsible for what was going to happen next. He wasn't strong enough to win, so now his mother's death would be on his hands.

His spirit wasn't entirely broken, though. Not at first. Over the next few months, he tried everything he could to make the money his mother would need for the surgery. He competed in other tournaments, losing all of them before even making it to the finals. He tried using his entry in Duelist Kingdom to leverage appearances or exhibition duels like some local celebrity, but no one was all that eager to take up an offer from a nobody who didn't even place.

Pretty soon, his goal shifted to what felt like the more realistic option of helping to pay for her medication. He was working a part-time paper route now to try and scrounge up what little cash he could as a student. A particularly good day came when he managed to find a buyer for his Duel Gauntlet. That was a pretty penny right there and more than a reason to celebrate.

It didn't last long, though. Medicine was expensive and a few thousand yen wasn't going to cover it forever. Soon enough, he turned to selling his cards. The more common ones didn't amount to much, though he did get rid of a few rarer specimens for a good price. Things weren't looking too bad for a time.

Eventually, though, he was forced to do what he'd resisted for so long. Money was quickly drying up one month and, with his father already pulling as much overtime as possible and his paper route scheduling him for every morning for two weeks, he had no choice but to finally sell Holy Night Dragon.

Up until now, Ryuunosuke had done his best to remain as stoic and collected as possible through all of this, to "be a man" as people would often say. That night, though, he let himself cry all the tears he'd held back over the years. The loss of his favorite card was more than devastating; it was the culmination of all the sorrow and heartache he'd experienced and the final, decisive moment that eradicated any hope he might be able to climb his way out of this hole.

His mother died four months later. It was much less dramatic than he'd anticipated. A few days before, she seemed to be doing well, spirits high as she tried her best to keep the house tidy and together on the little energy her body could retain. A day later and she was bedridden. The day after that and she was doubled over in pain, rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. And the day after that she was gone.

It was strange feeling that her death came both so slowly and so quickly. Her passing itself was sudden, but she'd been dying for years. That left him and his father in a strange place, already having made peace with these events some time ago but still feeling the hurt just as strongly now that she was gone.

People moved on eventually, though. They had to. That's just how life worked. Shortly after the funeral, he had to attend school again. Some classmates offered condolences, but he brushed them off one after the other. As if they really cared about him or his mother. They only did this because that's what the world had decided you had to do when someone died. Frankly, he respected the ones who didn't bother to talk to him at all much more.

An even stranger thing happened a few weeks later when he quit his delivery job. Since there were no longer any medical costs to think about, he figured, he had no reason to continue working like this. He had free time for the first time in forever. A relief, yet that relief came at the price of guilt so overwhelming that he couldn't even enjoy it.

How could he be feeling relief right now? Relief that someone had died? That he didn't have to waste his precious time working for his useless mother? How selfish could one person be? He was scum, he thought. Not just relieved, he figured, but happy that his mother was gone. He must have been.

Part of him knew that these thoughts weren't his true feelings, but that part was too beaten down and tired to put up a fight. That meant he'd just have to carry on hating himself. It was the only option, of course. The only way to atone for these thoughts. Maybe even his actions. After all, who could say he didn't lose Duelist Kingdom on purpose in the hopes that this would all end up like this?

Hating yourself usually doesn't leave much room for a compelling personality or interesting hobbies. As a result, Ryuunosuke's social circle dwindled to no one but his father after only a year or so. He'd driven away anyone who might have cared for him with his bad attitude and angry outbursts. Soon enough, he was even driving a wedge between himself and his father.

By the time he graduated high school, the two barely spoke. They lived in the same house, but their schedules kept them apart at almost all times. What free time they did have was always spent apart, Ryuunosuke wandering the streets of Domino and getting into fights while his father drank or looked over old family photos and videos.

For obvious reasons, he didn't bother going to a university. He was skeptical one would have even accepted him given his subterranean grades during his last year. The total lack of extracurricular achievements or notable life experience wouldn't help, either.

Because of that, he simply moved away to work at a machining plant in a neighboring town. Academics weren't his thing, but physical labor was more than doable. It was hot, exhausting, monotonous work, but it paid well enough to afford a terrible apartment and food to eat. That's about all he lived for these days.

His father never spoke to him after he left home. Was he even still alive now? That was fine, though. He had nothing to say to him at this point. Their resentment was no doubt mutual, Ryuunosuke fully accepting the blame the old man must have laid on him for his wife's death. He was as much a failure of a son as he was a duelist. Better to cut ties than pretend otherwise.

* * *

In the decade or so since Duelist Kingdom, Ryuunosuke had considered trying to duel again many times. Part of him longed to pick up a card and feel that same joy of summoning monsters and casting spells as before, but that was unfortunately the same part that didn't hate himself. It wasn't listened to.

Even so, he couldn't help but steal a glance into the windows of card shops he might be passing by throughout the years. The game seemed to evolve at a rapid pace, any card he might recognize fading out of the displays to be replaced by something new, only for that something new to be replaced by yet another something new not long after.

The longer he waited, the more complex the game seemed to get. That was fine, though. That just discouraged him from ever trying it again. That was for the best. He was a failure back then and he'd be a failure now, especially if he didn't even understand all the new rules they'd introduced since he quit. Better to just not try.

* * *

It was a hard day of work finally done. Trudging back home towards his apartment, Ryuunosuke made a brief stop off at a convenience store to grab dinner – a reduced price chicken croquette box that had sat out since earlier in the day and a tall can of beer. Not the most nourishing meal but it was what he enjoyed and could afford.

Unlocking the door, he stumbled inside over the same bit of cracked entrance he never worked up the energy to fix. Closing the door behind him, he kicked his shoes off into a pile and walked the narrow hallways into the rest of the room.

Switching on an overhead light, he tossed his food onto his unrolled futon before flopping down beside it. That job was really killing him lately, though it couldn't be helped. So many people at the plant had just up and disappeared into thin air. Still, that meant he had to cover for those lazy bastards. Get abducted on your own time.

Switching on the tiny box TV situated atop some old boxes of clothes he never bothered to unpack, he cracked open his meal and began shoveling it into his face, washing it down with large gulps of his beer. Everyone always made a big deal about home cooked meals, but he'd take this garbage over all of that any day. Tasted about the same if you weren't lying to yourself (though given it had been years since anyone last cooked for him, maybe he was just biased).

"Ryuunosuke," she said from the entryway. Wait, who was making that sound? He lived alone.

"Ryuunosuke," the woman repeated. This time, he bothered to look in the voice's direction, dropping his meal onto the floor. This couldn't be real. He had to be dreaming.

"I've come for you," his mother said. She began walking towards him, a wide grin across her face as wispy shadows circled around her feet. "Let's take a look at the darkness that lives inside your heart."

This couldn't be real. It absolutely had to be a dream. His mother couldn't be here right now. And yet there she was right in front of him. And it was definitely her, or at least someone who looked exactly like her. Same bony figure, same overly neat white dress, same flowing scarlet hair, same strict but loving auburn eyes. Even after all these years, he could never forget that much.

His whole body froze as she touched the center of his chest, an icy chill running down his everything. The darkness that shrouded her before began to spread to him now. Was this what his mother had felt all those years ago in that hospital bed?

Senses slowly fading, he could barely make out the changing features of the figure that had once taken on her face. It was really a man, or at least it looked like one. Slicked back hair, a dark bodysuit, and red glasses obscuring his eyes. That disturbing smile hadn't changed.

He had to fight it. He couldn't just slip away like this without any kind of resistance, right? Even if he was bound to lose, he should at least make some kind of effort. Kick, scream, yell for help, anything. Just anything that might show that he was alive right now. Like his mother had done for all those years.

He didn't have that kind of fire left inside, though. Even the memory of Holy Night Dragon wasn't enough to spark any last embers of hope. He'd abandoned that card long ago and all the hope it brought with it. He had no right to look to it for inspiration when he'd so callously thrown it away.

Better to just not try.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone want some angst? Because that's what you're getting.
> 
> It's always interesting to me to think about the random jobbers we never meet in events like Duelist Kingdom. They never get an episode fighting the protagonists or character development or cool traits or anything that might make them memorable. They're just part of the background. But they ostensibly made it to these tournaments on merit. They all have their own goals and motivations even if we never learn them. What happens when they have to go home a loser?
> 
> I left a couple clues as to who Ryuunosuke is supposed to be. If you go back and watch the early episodes of the anime, you might be able to find him. That's actually what made me think of all this since I'm rewatching the series again (now in Spanish). Some of those early episodes had some good art direction.
> 
> Expect a short followup to this at some point. Maybe next month, but I make no promises. If it makes you feel any better while you wait, anyone who's finished GX knows this has to have a happy ending.
> 
> That's all I've got for now. Thanks for reading. Share if you enjoyed. Always remember to go for gold.


	2. Finalist

His best card was on the field. He couldn't lose now. "Holy Night Dragon, attack! Let's end this!"

A mistake. "Trap activate! Holy Barrier – Mirror Force! Your monster's attack gets turned back on itself!"

Ryuunosuke slumped over onto his cards as he watched his ace blown apart by its own holy fire. Per the rules of this era, his remaining Life Points and hope to win Duelist Kingdom were snuffed out along with his monster. It was all over now.

* * *

His best card was on the field. He couldn't lose now. Ryuunosuke prepared to attack, raising a hand to point towards the enemy. Then, he hesitated. Slowly lowering his arm, he quietly declared, "Turn end."

The opponent's next move was to destroy Holy Night Dragon with a card effect, reducing it to ash along with his Life Points. He hadn't attacked for fear there might be a Trap set, but it looks like it didn't matter. It was all over now.

* * *

He'd just drawn it – Holy Night Dragon. With this, he couldn't lose. All he had to do was Summon it. That's all he had to do. Just Summon it, he thought while gazing at the card between trembling fingers. Why couldn't he make his hand move?

"I...give up," he finally said, cards dropping to the field in front of him. He couldn't win. No matter what, he couldn't win. What was the point of trying? It was all over now.

What was the point of trying? Why attack? Why Summon a monster? Why draw a card? Why duel? It would all end in failure. There was no way forward for him. He was going to lose. He was going to fail. Better to just let the darkness take him and be done with it. Don't try anymore. Just a waste of time.

It was all over now.

* * *

Did he just hear something? Couldn't be. He'd given up already. There shouldn't be anything left. He couldn't be hearing anyone. And even if he was, it sounded annoying. He didn't want to listen.

But that voice that wasn't there just kept on talking. Something about...a card? What card? Did he have a card? No, of course not. He abandoned his cards.

He kept denying it, but something was beginning to happen. Maybe it was really there. Maybe it was just his imagination. Either way, Ryuunosuke was starting to think that voice was saying something important.

Just one card. That's what it kept saying. One he could believe in. It seemed obvious which card it was talking about. But he'd given up Holy Night Dragon so long ago. He'd failed even with it by his side. How was this going to be any different?

It couldn't be different, could it? There wasn't any hope left, right? That's what he'd believed for so long. Nothing could possibly change or get better in his life. He'd burned all his bridges and had every opportunity slip through his grasp. There was no going back from where he was now.

And yet, the darkness didn't seem as crushing now. Somehow, he was starting to think again. Maybe going back was impossible. Then again, maybe going back wasn't what he was supposed to do.

There wasn't any going back. The past was the past. As if to prove that point, he was back at Duelist Kingdom. It was just like all the times before. Starting his turn just as before, he pulled Holy Night Dragon. If he played it, he would lose. If he didn't play it, he would lose. It was unchangeable.

"I Summon Holy Night Dragon!" he shouted, slapping the card down. The past couldn't be changed. He knew that as well as anyone else. But maybe he didn't need to find a way to change the past. Maybe he wasn't stuck under its shadow like he'd thought all these years.

"Attack!" Just as before, the opponent's Trap destroyed his monster and reduced his Life Points to 0. The loss still hurt even after all of this. And yet...maybe that was okay. It hurt to lose. It hurt to lose over and over again. But no matter how many times he lost, it didn't have to stay that way.

After trying so many times, Ryuunosuke had given up. Trying felt like a joke at this point. Not trying, though, wasn't any better. When he didn't try, things would always stay the same. At least if he tried, there would be a chance – even if it was slim – that things might change.

He had to bet on that chance. One last time. He'd try one last time to make things change. He didn't want things to stay the same anymore. He didn't want to stay stuck in the same rut his life had become. He didn't want to stay in this place. But to get out of that, he'd have to try.

He would try!

* * *

Whatever had happened that day was over now. Ryuunosuke had returned to (more accurately, reappeared in) his apartment like nothing had even happened. Something had definitely happened, though, and he planned to take those resolutions he'd made in the darkness with him forever.

About a month after the incident, he found himself back at his childhood home. It had taken him about that long to work up the nerve to do this, the rest of the time spent trying to figure out what he should wear to this sort of thing. Casual? Formal? It was just his father, but they hadn't seen each other in years. How do you dress for that?

After some time, though, he'd realized that fixating on clothes was just a way to put this off. The day of, he tossed on some beige slacks and a red polo without even looking, fixed his hair up as best he could, and headed back to Domino with no clue as to what he would find.

As far as he could tell from the outside, the old man still lived there. The family nameplate hadn't changed and there was a car in the driveway. The house itself was starting to look a little weathered with the white paint having faded in the sun and rain, but that wasn't too unusual.

Even the welcome mat out front was the same, though this had definitely grown a lot dirtier since he last saw it. Were guests still coming over? Who would be a guest in his father's house? He couldn't be, like, dating, could he? Even if he was, that wouldn't be his estranged son's business. He shouldn't even be thinking about all of that.

He was doing it again. All of this nonsense was just another way to put it off, to hopefully buy enough time for his fears to convince him he should leave. His father wouldn't want to speak to him, obviously. It had been too long. He was a failure of a son. He'd done nothing with his life after he left.

As much as he believed these things, he'd resolved to try. If they were true, he should at least confirm them for himself. He had to try one last time.

Raising his hand to knock, he recoiled as he heard the locks clicking. Holding his breath, he watched the brown wooden door open, his father standing behind it. He'd gained some weight and his short clipped hair was a good deal grayer than before, but it was still him after all this time. Even had the same blue sweatpants covered in bleach stains.

After several seconds of throat clearing-turned-loud-coughing, Ryuunosuke tried a human greeting. "Hello," he managed to mumble, eyes drifting to the ground.

"Hello?" his father said, eyebrow raised. "You come to visit your dad and just say hello? What's that about?"

He didn't know how to respond to that. Was he trying to make a joke? Was he mad? It had been so long that he couldn't really remember his mannerisms. Even before he'd left, they'd both seemed like different people compared to how they were "normally" supposed to act.

"Hi," he tried again, hoping that was the right answer.

"That's better," his father replied. "But what about a, 'Hey, pops,' or maybe a, 'Been a while, old man.' That seems more like you."

What was happening right now? "What are…" Ryuunosuke shook his head. "I finally came back. Aren't you mad? Yell at me, hit me. Do something."

He seemed put off at the thought. "Son, when have I ever done either of those things?"

"But, it's…" He ran his hands through his hair to try and get his thoughts together. "I left everything behind. I just walked out. You can hate me for that. Don't you feel anything about this?"

His father sighed, smoothing his bushy mustache. "Son…" He looked him in the eyes, features softening. "I'm just happy my son came to visit me. I don't want to be mad at you."

Ryuunosuke could feel the corners of his eyes sting, one hand gripping at the side of his head as thoughts flooded his brain and words began to randomly tumble from his mouth. "But I… I don't… I'm… I'm just…" He grit his teeth, trying to control his feelings as he always had. "I let everyone down. I let mom die. I ran away. I…"

His father placed his hands on his son's shoulders, asking, "Is that really what you've thought all this time?" He sounded absolutely devastated at the idea that his son had been carrying this kind of burden for so long. He was now the first to cry, pulling his son in for a tight hug as some tears worked their way down his wrinkled face. "Ryuunosuke, you didn't let anyone down. You did your best. That's all we ever wanted."

Frozen for several seconds, Ryuunosuke's senses slowly returned as he felt himself shake. He was making some terrible noise, breathing shallow with tears streaming from his eyes and onto his father's white t-shirt. "But I wasn't good enough," he choked out, returning the hug and crying for the first time since that night all those years ago.

"It's okay," his father told him. "It wasn't your job to begin with. But we're still so proud of you for trying." He meant these words wholly and truly. For the first time in a long time, Ryuunosuke believed them, too.

* * *

Things had changed fairly quickly after that. After a long talk with his father, Ryuunosuke decided to move back home with him. He hated his job, his terrible apartment, and that city, so it seemed like a pretty obvious choice to make. His father was getting on in years, too, so it would be better for everyone if he had someone around to help him.

From there, he managed to find a new job at Kaiba Corporation. As insane as its CEO seemed to be, even the lowest level employees the company hired made more than a living wage. Even just working the mail room, his salary was about on par with his old job. Maybe he'd even move up the ranks in a couple years.

That's what led him to where he was today. Because of the aforementioned insane CEO, it was sort of an unspoken rule that only a duelist could really hope to make a splash in KC's corporate structure. No matter how stuffy and uptight an executive in the company might seem, they'd be ready to pull out a deck and play cards at a moment's notice. And the weirdest part was that (according to the rumors) they were all genuinely strong.

A bell chimed as he made his way inside the tiny game shop. It was a bit cramped, though the atmosphere more than made up for it. The walls were lined with all sorts of vintage puzzles, tabletop games, defunct card games, and a whole assortment of things he didn't even recognize as games in the traditional sense. Definitely the kind of thing you'd want to see in a specialty store like this.

"Oh, hello there," said a little old man from behind the counter. "Can I help you find anything today?"

"Just looking," Ryuunosuke told him, trying to play it cool, hands in his pockets as he strolled around pretending to browse. For whatever reason, he was feeling a bit bashful about this whole endeavor. He'd already caught sight of the Duel Monsters cards locked inside a case up front, though, sealed product lined up behind the owner. "Thought I'd stop by since I'm in the neighborhood."

The old man nodded with a smile. "A new game after a hard day's work. It's hard to beat, I'd say."

Walking towards him, Ryuunosuke finally asked, "So...I was thinking about getting some cards."

"Ah, a duelist," he said. "Anything you had in mind?"

"Not really," he admitted. "I used to play, but that was a long time ago. The game seems like it's changed a lot."

The man laughed. "They're always adding new rules," he agreed. "It's hard for an old man like me to follow, but it definitely keeps the game interesting."

"I bet," he said. "It sounds like you play, too."

"Well, of course," he replied. "Just about everyone in Domino City plays Duel Monsters. I'm getting a little rusty these days, though. My grandson is always off somewhere, so we don't get to duel like we used to. Not that I can beat him anymore in the first place."

"Sorry to hear that," he told him, mustering a small laugh. "Anyway, I guess I was wondering if you had any recommendations. For someone who wants to start playing again."

"A return player, eh?" The old man nodded, placing a hand to his bushy, bearded chin. Turning around, he opened up some cabinets near the floor, rummaging through them for close to a full minute before he turned back around. "These might be a good place to start," he said, dropping a handful of stray packs and two preconstructed decks onto the counter.

Ryuunosuke got the feeling he might be trying to unload some old product on him, but a start was a start. Even if he didn't manage to pull anything good, he'd at least have a deck again. "Okay, then I guess-" He was stopped cold in his tracks after he caught sight of one of the packs.

Holy Night Dragon. It was practically at the top of the pile. That pack must be ancient by now. What were the odds he'd find one sitting in this store? It was improbable, almost impossible.

"I'll take all of them," he said quickly, pulling out his wallet.

"That's what I like to hear," the old man laughed. "You've got the eyes of a duelist right now."

He paid quickly, barely taking the time to shove his wallet back in his pants before he grabbed the pack he'd been eyeing. He couldn't wait until he got home. "Sorry, I'm going to open this one right now," he said, tearing off the top of the plastic.

Taking hold of the cards inside, Ryuunosuke felt himself gripped by fear. He already knew how slim the chances were to find another Holy Night Dragon after all this time. The odds of pulling that card again from a random pack were next to zero. Even if he did, he doubted it would even be worth using in this day and age.

But he had try. Just one last time. No matter what happened, it wouldn't replace the card he'd let go of in the past. Even so, he wanted the chance to try and make things right with the card that stuck by him for so long, if only in his heart.

Taking a deep breath, he prepared to reveal them. The old man had leaned in, too, just as curious about what might be inside. "I guess…" Ryuunosuke said, swallowing hard. "I guess...I draw!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so ends the story of Ryuunosuke. At least for now. I don't know if I'll ever pick him back up, but anyone who's got ideas about where he might go from here is welcome to try for themselves.
> 
> Actually managed to get something out on time for once. Just barely in time, but that's still in time. I tried, too. Hope that effort paid off in the form of something halfway decent.
> 
> The theme seems pretty obvious, but it's probably what someone out there needs to hear. Humans have a special kind of delusion called hope, so we can all keep clinging to that until the very end. No matter how bad the world might be, there's still the possibility for things to be different.
> 
> Like I just said, I'm probably not going to pick this back up unless there's a story I really feel needs to be told in the future. In the meantime, I do have more Emotional card game action on here if you're in the mood for that. Got this one called Reda that's my big thing that you'll find on my page. There's a nice girl in that. I like her. Doing some editing work on a VRAINS webcomic called Lightning Hunter over on Webtoon if you want some pictures to go with writing. Also a nice girl in that one. All pretty good stuff.
> 
> Enough plugging random stuff, though. That's all I've really got to say at this point. Thanks for reading. Share if you enjoyed. Always remember to try.


End file.
